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The Rock Art Network Johannes H. N. Loubser
The Rock Art Network Johannes H. N. Loubser
The Rock Art Network Johannes H. N. Loubser
Johannes H. N. Loubser
Graffiti Dates and Names as a Rock Art Conservation and Management Tool
29 October 2020

by Johannes H. N. Loubser
Stratum Unlimited

Introduction

This paper calls for the recording of graffiti, including those that are to be removed and the ones deemed sufficiently significant to be left intact. Where graffiti is overwhelming and time consuming to record in detail, it remains worthwhile to record at least the dates and significant names (seemingly meaningless letters and faint or illegible scribbles on rock surfaces can be photographed, but are arguably a waste of time to record thoroughly, particularly when it comes to tight time schedules and budgetary constraints).

During my rock art documentation in different parts of North America, it has become apparent to me that recorded graffiti dates can throw suggestive light on visitation trends. When compared to the documented history of changing land ownership, population growth, and extra-local events, then fluctuations in date numbers reveal certain suggestive visitation trends. Knowledge derived from past visitation patterns and behavior as suggested by graffiti dates may assist rock art site managers to make more informed decisions concerning effective conservation strategies.

At the outset it is worth mentioning that graffiti dates, be they incised, drawn, or painted, are not one-to-one indications of when a site was visited. Many people simply leave their names, initials, and hometown and state names without a date of their day of visit; it is not known what proportion of visitors included dates as part of their graffiti. Dates may moreover indicate an event, real or imaginary, that occurred in the distant past, such as birth dates, historic events of significance, or made-up dates. However, for the purposes of this article, it is assumed that most dates do indeed reflect the actual year, month, and/or day of visit. This assumption is justified by various contextual assessments. For instance, many law-enforcement cases have been successfully solved by using graffiti dates as evidence. Also, juxtaposed family names on a rock surface often contain the same day of visit. Where dates differ, such as showing successive days, months, or years, local visitors consulted have confessed that the dates accurately reflect re-visits.

With this caveat in mind, graffiti date trends are discussed at the following four sites: Scenic Mountain (western Texas); Painted Rock (southern California); Writing-on-Stone (southern Alberta); and Castle Gardens (central Wyoming). Similarities and differences in visitation trends hopefully will help site managers to make informed decisions as to if and how rock art sites are to be opened to a visiting public.

Scenic Mountain

View of Big Spring from Scenic Mountain, western Texas Johannes Loubser Rock Art Network Archaeology Bradshaw Foundation
Figure 1
View of Big Spring from Scenic Mountain, western Texas.
© Johannes H. N. Loubser
Scenic Mountain is a 210-foot high limestone mesa overlooking the City of Big Spring in western Texas (Figure 1). Located within Big Spring State Park, a total of 376 incised graffiti panels have been located at 11 different loci on Scenic Mountain (Figure 2). In an effort to preserve the meticulously-executed graffiti, much of which dates back to the early twentieth century within the park, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department requested an inventory to be made of all graffiti and the formulation of recommendations to best conserve the integrity of the historic graffiti and their setting (Mark et al. 2009). In addition to the incised letters, numbers, and Euro-American style drawings, a single incised horned-face motif stylistically resembles precontact Indigenous painted lined and horned faces on the rock surfaces of Hueco Tanks in far western Texas (see Sutherland 2002:11-22).

Based on the documented history for Scenic Mountain, the following four phases of ownership, management, and associated visitation can be identified (Figure 3): 1.) the Texas and Pacific Railroad era (1881 to 1916) when people regularly visited Scenic Mountain from the city of Big Spring to the northwest; 2a. and b.) the Edwards era (from 1916 to 1934, which includes 2a.Edward’s initial co-ownership with Pritchard and 2b. Edward’s sole ownership of the mountain top) characterized by the mountain apex being used as privately owned pasture, but continued to being visited by people from the city of Big Spring; 3.) the early State Park/Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) era (1934 to 1936) when built structures and roads significantly altered the Scenic Mountain landscape, but the mountain top still being privately owned; and 4.) the fully-fledged State Park era (1937 to present) when the land was actively managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for public recreational purposes, including nature watching, hiking, jogging, and picnicking.

Diagrammatic Representation of Graffiti Dates at Scenic Mountain Johannes Loubser Rock Art Network Archaeology Bradshaw Foundation
Figure 3
Diagrammatic Representation of Graffiti Dates at Scenic Mountain.
© Johannes H. N. Loubser
Recorded dates suggest that the earliest graffiti names were done in Locus G (Figure 2), the portion of the Scenic Mountain rim rock that faces due north and directly overlooks the City of Big Spring (Figure 1). It is only after 1900 that names start appearing farther away from the cliff- like northern rim of the mountain, in Panel J. By 1907 names occur in Panel A which is farthest removed from the northern mountain edge. Graffiti, irrespective of date, tends to concentrate near the edge of the rim rock, instead of being farther back on the exposed rock of the mesa top. Ever since the late 1800s a road followed the northern rim, making access relatively easy to this part of the mountain.

According to Figure 3, there is no clear relationship between the number of graffiti panels completed per year and the growing population of Big Spring (i.e., as based on population totals cited in Hazlewood and Odintz 2008). Judging from the peaks of engraved date frequency, the years between 1910 and 1917 appear to be comparatively active, which coincides with Edward’s private ownership of the land. The isolated burst of activity from 1934 to 1936 represents CCC troopers within the park. When Edwards finally sold the summit of the mountain to the state in 1937, graffiti rates appear to have declined. Overall, the graph suggests that intensity of engraving on Scenic Mountain is probably a result of fashionable trends rather than population or visitation numbers. Judging from those dates that indicate months, most of the engravings appear to have been done during the winter (Figure 4), when cooler weather favored visits to the mountain top and graffiti application. July is an aberration within this trend, most likely due to people visiting the mountain top on Independence Day, despite very high summer-time temperatures.

Jimmie Garza Incisions at Scenic Mountain Johannes Loubser Rock Art Network Archaeology Bradshaw Foundation
Figure 6
Jimmie Garza Incisions at Scenic Mountain.
© Johannes H. N. Loubser
The name “Leonard Fisher,” which is done meticulously in Gothic script, dates to “12-6-16” (Figure 5). Leonard Fisher is a member of the well-known Fisher family of dry-good merchants in nearby Big Spring (e.g., Pickle 1980:241, 423). Another Big Spring resident, “Barney Lee Russell,” had engraved his name in a similar tidy Gothic font nearby. Technically and aesthetically-speaking, the carefully and evenly carved letters of these and other roughly contemporary graffiti names, which roughly date to between 1916 and 1934 (labeled the Edwards-era), are among the best executed in the Big Spring State Park. Partly due to the artistic skill exhibited by these and other roughly contemporary names, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wants to preserve them for future generations to view and enjoy.

The CCC-era panels likewise exhibit artistic and technical skill. For example, the CCC-era panel with name “JIMMY GARZA” occurs next-to a finely executed pecked and incised cartoon-like depiction of a “sailor” (Figure 6). The head and cap are enlarged in proportion to the body. Based on the absence of the figure’s left hand and legs it is safe to infer that it was never completed. The name Jimmy Garza is listed on the roster of CCC Company #1857 (Treanor 1994). This company quarried limestone blocks nearby for the construction of rustic features on the park, between the years 1934 and 1935.

The Edwards (1916 to 1934) and CCC-era (1934 to 1936) carvings clearly have sentimental value to members of the local community and more distant towns, many of whom are continuing the tradition of finding and viewing the graffiti carvings left by their ancestors on top of Scenic Mountain (e.g., Atwell 1982:28).

Sloppy-looking graffiti names and dates have generally been applied in a hurry by more recent day-time visitors, who for the most part have travelled from other parts of the country. Few or any of these later names are associated with places that are tied to Scenic Mountain in the same way as the meticulous earlier ones that were done by local inhabitants. But more pertinently, jumbled expanses of recent graffiti tend to overwhelm and obscure the earlier names and dates. In order to preserve the character and integrity of the pre-1950 graffiti and the single Native American motif within the Big Spring State Park, it has been recommended that all post-1950 graffiti should be removed (Mark et al. 2009).

Painted Rock

View of Painted Rock from its Northern Entrance, southern California Johannes Loubser Rock Art Network Archaeology Bradshaw Foundation
Figure 7
View of Painted Rock from its Northern Entrance, southern California.
© Johannes H. N. Loubser
Painted Rock is a massive 45-foot tall amphitheater-shaped sandstone outcrop that opens on its northern end (Figure 7), with a secondary sandstone outcrop on its northeastern side (Loubser and Simon 2011). A total of 126 pictograph panels were recorded within the amphitheater, of which at least 49 contained incised graffiti (Figure 8). Located within the Carrizo Plain National Monument of southwestern California, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) requested a full recording and assessment be made of all the panels and the formulation of recommendations to best conserve the precontact pictographs and their setting. When additional pictograph panels outside and on top of the rock are added to those within the amphitheater, a total of 151 panels were recorded at Painted Rock. In terms of quantity of paintings and high quality and detail of their execution, Painted Rock must rank among the highest of all rock art sites in California. Judging from statements made by Indigenous people and from stylistic information gathered by anthropologists, Chumash, Yokut, and perhaps, Salinian, peoples made the pictographs at Painted Rock.

Map of Painted Rock Showing Panels with Graffiti Johannes Loubser Rock Art Network Archaeology Bradshaw Foundation
Figure 8
Map of Painted Rock, Showing Panels with Graffiti.
© Johannes H. N. Loubser
The concentration of incised graffiti within the amphitheater made it necessary that the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) focuses its 1991 graffiti camouflage efforts on this highly visible and much-visited section of Painted Rock (Thorn 1991). Most of the graffiti within the amphitheater was either completely removed or camouflaged. A couple of historic period names and images have been left intact, notably the name and date "Geo. Lewis 1908,” the founder of Atascadero, California.

All-in-all it can be said that graffiti at Painted Rock was applied to those surfaces that are readily visible to the casual visitor; any surfaces hidden behind drip lines and/or require one to get down into a crawling or slithering position did not contain graffiti. The fact that many of the less visible and/or low-lying pictograph panels did not contain graffiti suggests that the intent of these pictographs is different from that of graffiti. As will be seen below, the placement of graffiti within the Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada, include obscure locations, such as within alcoves and behind sandstone pillars.

Based on the documented history for Painted Rock, the following four phases of ownership, management, and associated visitation can be identified (Figure 9): 1a. and b.) the era of private ownership which includes first 1a.the Bromley and then the 1b. Blakely families (1880 to 1910), with friends and family visiting Painted Rock on an intermittent basis, often in horse-drawn carriages; 2.) the USDA Forest Service lease era (from 1910 to 1980) characterized by varied, but often intensive visitation; 3.) Oppenheimer ownership of Painted Rock (1980 to 1985); 4) the short-lived Nature Conservancy era (1986 to 1988) which marked an increased awareness of visitor behavior; and 4.) the BLM era (1989 to present) when the land was actively managed to conserve nature and culture, to conserve the remote character of the landscape, and to support academic inquiry into resource management and public education.

Diagrammatic Representation of Graffiti Dates at Painted Rock Johannes Loubser Rock Art Network Archaeology Bradshaw Foundation
Figure 9
Diagrammatic Representation of Graffiti Dates at Painted Rock.
© Johannes H. N. Loubser
The National Motorist Magazine of 1926 advertised Painted Rock as a tourist attraction (Werden 2008:29). As can be seen from old photographs and various accounts, by the 1920s the site has already been a well-known and frequently visited destination. Although exact visitor numbers are unknown, it is estimated that roughly 3,000 people visit Painted Rock annually. The site is closed to visitation from March 7 to June 15 due to raptor season. The highest visitation is in Spring, followed by Fall, and Summer months (Duane Christian and Tamar Whitley, personal communication). Visitation varies from year to year, depending on temperatures, precipitation, or good flowering season. This variation in visitation implies that people visit the rock and its surrounding area primarily for reasons other than rock art. Since 1989 the access road that leads directly to the northern entrance of Painted Rock’s amphitheater has been closed, so that visitors now must approach the site via a 0.75-mile trail. Clever use of fencing excludes cattle and channels visitors to the trail head. Any locations with potentially new graffiti are noted during monitoring. These are compared with earlier photographs taken by GCI in 1991. The monitoring is done by trained volunteers from the Southern Sierra Archaeological Society and BLM staff. BLM staff archaeologist, Monument staff, and volunteer site stewards make additional visits to site.

If incised graffiti dates within the amphitheater are taken at face value (as recorded during the GCI’s 1991 field season and by post-1989 field monitors for the BLM), then vandalism was intermittent during the late nineteenth century era of private land ownership (Figure 9). Vandalism became much more frequent in the early twentieth century, peaking in 1927, which is early on during leasing of land by the USDA Forest Service. It is during this period that ranching gave way to agriculture; from the 1920s to 1930s mechanized tractors cultivated large tracks of Carrizo Plain for dry-farmed wheat. But more than anything else, the 1920s oil boom brought thousands of people into the Carrizo region and automobiles made it easy for tourists to visit Painted Rock. Visitation to the site seemingly taking a break during the 1940s, which is likely associated with World War II. Graffiti picked up considerably in the 1950s, peaking to an all- time high in 1956. Painted Rock apparently experienced another “clean” period during the 1960s. The 1970s and 1980s were years of sporadic vandalism, ostensibly ceasing in 1987, when it was incorporated by the Nature Conservancy and the road leading up to Painted Rock was closed. Following the GCI graffiti removal exercise in 1991, graffiti re-appeared in 1994, albeit in limited numbers. Most of the post-1991 graffiti is juxtaposed or superimposed on pre-1991 graffiti that is still visible; it can be said that this faintly visible graffiti begot additional graffiti. Fortunately, however, none of the post-1991 graffiti has been placed on top of rock art.

A new strategy of visitation to Painted Rock has recently been implemented, one in which unguided visits to the site requires a BLM permit (Tamara Whitley, personal communication). A permit can be obtained online at Recreation.gov. Guided tour bookings can be done on the same web site. Under the new permit system, Painted Rock continues to have the same “closed” season as before (i.e., March 7 to June 15), with guided tours available every Saturday from March 16 to the end of May.

To maintain the spiritual, research, and aesthetic integrity of Painted Rock, the BLM staff archaeologist, Monument staff, and the volunteer site stewards regularly visit the site. However, the few remaining visible graffiti at the site might prompt visitors to add their own initials, names, and dates. The choice is between creating a clean slate at the site or run the risk of leaving graffiti remnants that may inspire more graffiti in the future.

Writing-on-Stone

View of Writing-on-Stone Archaeological Preserve from the Milk River southern Alberta Johannes Loubser Rock Art Network Archaeology Bradshaw Foundation
Figure 10
View of Writing-on-Stone Archaeological Preserve from the Milk River, southern Alberta.
© Johannes H. N. Loubser
Writing-on-Stone comprises an interrupted line of sandstone cliffs, on average 30 feet high (Figure 10), which overlook the Milk River in southern Alberta (Loubser 2012b). Located within the Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park (WOSPP), the cliffs contain over 50 petroglyph and pictograph site complexes and thousands of panels. This National Historic Site is also on Canada’s tentative list for World Heritage inscription, but such a nomination has not yet been submitted to UNESCO. Bearing in mind that graffiti is clearly a problem with respect to a successful review, staff of the Alberta Parks and Protected Areas Program, with the assistance from the Royal Alberta Museum, requested removal of unwanted graffiti from selected panels at Writing-on-Stone (graffiti was removed from 94 panels in 2012) (Figure 11). The extensive Writing-on-Stone rock art complex is significant within Alberta and beyond as it contains an unusually varied collection of Plains tradition petroglyph and pictograph panels, often depicting people and animals in minute detail. The site complex is historically associated with the Blackfoot First Nation.

Map of Writing-on-Stone Showing Graffiti Occurrences Johannes Loubser Rock Art Network Archaeology Bradshaw Foundation
Figure 11
Map of Writing-on-Stone, Showing Graffiti Occurrences.
© Johannes H. N. Loubser
Diagrammatic Representation of Graffiti Dates at Different Locations within Writing- on-Stone Johannes Loubser Rock Art Network Archaeology Bradshaw Foundation
Figure 12
Diagrammatic Representation of Graffiti Dates at Different Locations within Writing- on-Stone.
© Johannes H. N. Loubser
Based on the documented history of Writing-on-Stone, the following four phases of ownership, management, and associated visitation patterns were identified (Figure 12): 1.) when the Northwest Mounted Police Post lived immediately south of the Milk River (1887 to 1918), the police and other people occasionally visited the petroglyphs and pictographs north of the river; 2.) when private farmers owned the land (1920 to 1957), increasing numbers of people from farther afield started visiting the area for its natural scenery and rock art; 3.) by 1957, when the WOSPP was formally designated (1957 to present), outside visitation increased dramatically; 4.) to better channel the movements of park visitors, the Archaeological Preserve was established in the western section of the park in 1977 and was set aside for guided tours (1977 to present). A new visitor center was set up in the eastern half of the park in 2007.

Taking the incised dates at face value, the earliest graffiti was done within the area that is currently designated as the Archaeological Preserve, dating to 1851 (Figure 12). The next date thereafter is 1881. Both dates precede the establishment of a North-West Mounted Police (the precursor of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) camp across the Milk River from the site in 1887. The oldest recorded date along the western hoodoo-Battle Scene trail is 1904. It is during the period immediately preceding World War I that ranchers and farmers settled in the area. After the closure of the North-West Mounted Police outpost in 1918, graffiti continued to be applied on the rock surfaces what later became the Archaeological Preserve. In 1939 the first recorded date appears among the scenic hoodoos that are sandwiched between the campground and the later visitor center. These historical graffiti are valued and were not removed. By 1951 the graffiti is present in the hoodoos along the current eastern hoodoo trail. The park was created in 1957, which is the year with the most recorded incised dates (i.e., 14 within what became the Archaeological Preserve and one along the eastern hoodoo trail). After the designation of the Archaeological Preserve in 1977, graffiti virtually disappeared, the last incised date recorded being 1999. This is also roughly the time that graffiti declined along the campground trail, which is some time before the opening of the visitor center in 2007. The most recent date along the eastern hoodoo trail is 2010. The three separate 2012 dates that were recorded along the western hoodoo-Battle Scene trails indicates that graffiti application is an ongoing problem in this area. During removal in the field, we witnessed visitors inscribing their initials on the rock near the corner where the trail linking the car park with the Battle Scene site comes very close to the rock surface.

As can be seen in Figure 12, by 1957, when the park was formally designated, a popular pastime among outside visitors was scratching their names and dates into the soft sandstone, particularly near the public facilities and on the most accessible rock art panels. At an increasing rate, the damage was done largely by people without a personal or historical connection to the place. Regardless of their ostensible interest to view the Indigenous rock art, outside visitors continued to graffiti the rock well into the 1970s (Klassen 2007:32). Ever since 1977 when guided interpretive tours to select rock art panels started within the Archaeological Preserve, the incidence of graffiti application has decreased significantly.

Incised names and dates, a few historic period motifs, and bullet holes occur either separately or on top of the Indigenous petroglyphs and pictographs along portions of the cliffs. While some graffiti occurrences are important to the history of the park and surrounding community, the vast majority of historic period names, dates, and motifs were done by people who have visited the place very briefly and have little to no knowledge of its significance. Considering that much of historic period graffiti (with the exception of North-West Mounted Police and early homesteaders who lived in the area for a long time) bears no intrinsic relationship to Writing-on- Stone as a place, the presence of such graffiti distracts from its significance values. Historic period graffiti also covers and obscures from view much of the original Indigenous petroglyphs and pictographs. In a few instances deep gashes created by historic period graffiti in the rock surface have facilitated accelerated weathering of the softer matrix deeper within the rock. So, in terms of historic period graffiti compromising the integrity, reducing the visibility, and increasing the vulnerability of indigenous rock art, it was requested that they be removed.

Care was taken when removing historic period graffiti in case they may be associated with the North-West Mounted Police presence in the area. Care was also taken not to remove names and dates left by early Euro-Canadian homesteaders who farmed the area, mostly between 1905 and the 1930s. Following on-site consultation with a group of local farmers, the following names and initials were left intact: “B. Lippa;” “W. Bruce;” “J. Kolesar;” “B.L.;” “O’Hara;” “Loretta Thielen;” “D.E. Scott West;” “Ted Humphrey;” “Lyle Pittman;” “Garvin Gaehring;” “H. Audet;” “Wally M. Fingers;” and “G. L. Hutchinson.” Very likely for sentimental reasons, at least some descendants of these pioneer farmers and ranchers still visit the cliffs to view the names of their ancestors. Notable Blackfoot elders who visited the site in 1957 outlined the following incised text, which is very weathered and not completely legible anymore: "ALL FROM LANDN... STAB.DOWN, THE SHOUTIMEISR, ...MELMTEDH, JOHNNY HEALY, OCT 1957." This Indigenous writing was left intact.

Unlike Painted Rock, where graffiti tended to occur within full sight of visitors, graffiti within Writing-on-Stone also occur in alcoves or behind sandstone pillars that require crawling or climbing. Invariably, however, graffiti almost always occurs near trails (i.e., including old, new, formal, or informal) and tend to concentrate near Indigenous rock art panels.

To discourage unwanted graffiti from recurring within the park, it is recommended that the trails closest to the rock surfaces be re-vegetated and that the use of the alternative trail downslope and farther away from the cliff face be encouraged. It is only where there is a barrier between the trail and petroglyph/pictograph panel, such as a fence and/or interpretive sign and/or thorny shrubs, when pedestrians should be encouraged to come closer, especially where there are readily visible petroglyphs and/or pictographs worth seeing.

Castle Gardens

View of Castle Garden from the Old Car Park central Wyoming Johannes Loubser Rock Art Network Archaeology Bradshaw Foundation
Figure 13
View of Castle Garden from the Old Car Park, central Wyoming.
© Johannes H. N. Loubser
Castle Gardens comprises a series of roughly parallel southwest-facing sandstone cliffs, on average 10 feet high, which project sharply above the concave floor of an eroded upper watershed drainage basin (Figure 13). At least 57 petroglyph panels have been recorded within the upper drainage area (Gebhard et al. 1987), of which 16 were condition assessed (Figure 14). Based on the results of the condition assessment (Loubser 2010), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) requested that graffiti be removed from all surfaces visible from the trail that connects 15 of the most visited rock art panels (graffiti was removed from 101 panels in 2010). Located in central Wyoming, the Castle Gardens rock art complex is significant within the plains as it contains a comparatively varied and detailed collection of petroglyph and pictograph panels. Most of the petroglyphs at Castle Gardens were probably done by the Eastern Shoshone prior to their full-scale acquisition of the horse (Gebhard et al. 1987:14).

Map of Castle Gardens Showing Location of Old Car Park and Rock Art Panels Johannes Loubser Rock Art Network Archaeology Bradshaw Foundation
Figure 14
Map of Castle Gardens, Showing Location of Old Car Park and Rock Art Panels.
© Johannes H. N. Loubser
Based on the documented history of Castle Gardens, the following four phases of ownership, management, and associated visitation patterns were identified (Figure 15): 1.) during the Love family ownership of the land (ca. 1909 to 1950), visitation was limited to people who had to visit the nearby Love ranch house first in order to find the right track leading to the rock art complex (Renaud 1932:4); 2.) when exactly the BLM started to manage the land is unclear, but by 1950 the agency already had jurisdiction over Castle Gardens, a period which is marked by increasing public access; 3.) concern over vehicle access and vandalism at the site resulted in the area being fenced in 1961 (O’Callaghan 1961); and 4.) by 1968 the Bureau of Land Management has provided a road directly to the main concentration of rock art panels, constructed a few picnic facilities, and erected six chain linked fences in front of the major panels (Karina Bryan, personal communication).

Diagrammatic Representation of Graffiti Dates at Castle Gardens Johannes Loubser Rock Art Network Archaeology Bradshaw Foundation
Figure 15
Diagrammatic Representation of Graffiti Dates at Castle Gardens.
© Johannes H. N. Loubser
If the sample of incised graffiti recorded in 2010 can be taken as representative (Figure 15), then graffiti has been around since at least 1909 and continue to the present. Spurts of graffiti occurred during the Love family’s ownership of the land and appeared to have declined during the initial phase of BLM management and installation of fences. However, vandalism increased dramatically with the completion of a proper gravel road to the main concentration of rock art panels. For the most part, the six chain link fences that were installed at roughly the same time managed to keep graffiti activity away from the fenced panels.

Reminiscent of graffiti within Writing-on-Stone, vandalism at Castle Gardens also occur in alcoves or behind sandstone pillars that require crawling or climbing. Invariably, however, graffiti almost always occurs near trails (i.e., including old, new, formal, or informal). However, unlike Writing-on-Stone, graffiti is not always denser closer to rock art panels.

Most graffiti occur within easy walking distance from the current parking lot. To discourage unwanted graffiti from recurring at Castle Gardens, it has been recommended to move the access road and parking lot some distance away from the rock art panels. Also recommended are installation of interpretive pedestals at the fenced panels and the implementation of a site stewardship program.

Overview

In the absence of a pro-active management infrastructure, visitors tend to set the management standards, often to the detriment of the sites and associated art. It can be argued that good site preservation is really all about good presentation to the visiting public. For example, if a site has graffiti and appears untidy and uncared for, then visitors cannot take all the blame for not taking care or for behaving inappropriately. Clean rock surfaces devoid of graffiti and clean deposits without litter or detritus create a good impression. Moreover, with the agreement of Indigenous and other stakeholders, the installment of interpretive signage and clearly delineated and well- maintained trails create a sense of official presence and custodial care.

A common trend at all four sites is that graffiti does not necessarily increase with increasing population or increasing visitation numbers. A shared reason for the increase in graffiti rather appears to be increasing access to unmanaged sites, be it through opening them to the public (e.g., Scenic Mountain during Edwards ownership in the early 1900s or Writing-on-Stone becoming a provincial park in 1957) or constructing new roads to within easy walking distance of the sites (e.g., Castle Gardens in 1968). Closure of roads (e.g., Painted Rock since 1989), entrance via guided tours only (e.g., the Archaeological Preserve at Writing-on-Stone since 1977), and increased monitoring by park staff (e.g., since the 1990s at Scenic Mountain) have been accompanied by a rapid drop-off in graffiti incidences. Effective presentation of appropriate interpretive material should also go a long way towards informing visitors and discouraging graffiti. On rock surfaces where historic period graffiti has been left intact, interpretive signs and/or brochures should state the reason why the graffiti is significant and worth preserving. Positive signage, such as “please help us preserve these rare rock markings by staying on the pathway,” should help foster a feeling of custodial care among visitors. Future systematic recording and removal of graffiti at other petroglyph and/or pictograph sites are likely to yield interesting results as to past visitation patterns and behaviors. Knowledge likely to be gained might help with the pro-active and sustainable management and conservation approach already adopted by site managers.

Acknowledgements

In alphabetical order, the following people are thanked for contributing towards the success of the graffiti recording and removal efforts at the sites mentioned in the text: Ron Alton; Jack Brink; Craig Bromley; Karina Bryan; Aaron Domes; Dabney Ford; Jane Kolber; Tony Lyle; and Tamara Whitley.

References

Atwell, G.
1982 Beauty Spot a Show Place of this Area. In History of Howard County, 1882-1982: 24-28. Howard County Historical Commission, Big Spring.

Gebhard, D., F. Heaton, and J. Laitone
1987 The Rock Drawings of Castle Gardens, Wyoming. Stanley Associates and David Gebhard Report submitted to the BLM, Cheyenne.

Hazlewood, C., and M. Odintz
2008 The Handbook of Texas Online. www.tshaonline.org/hnadbook/online/articles/BB/heb9_print.htlml. The Texas State Historical Association, Austin.

Klassen, M. A.
2005 Aisinai’pi (Writing-on-Stone) in Traditional, Anthropological, and Popular Thought. In Discovering North American Rock Art, edited by L. L. Loendorf, C. Chippindale, and D. S. Whitley, pp. 15-50. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.

Loubser, J. H.
2010 Graffiti Removal and Camouflage at Castle Gardens, Site 48FR108, Fremont County, Wyoming. Stratum Report submitted to the Bureau of Land Management Field Office, Lander.

Loubser, J. H. N.
2012a Letter Report on Graffiti Mitigation within the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. Stratum Report submitted to the National Park Service.

Loubser, J. H. N.
2012b Graffiti Removal and Camouflage: Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, Alberta. Stratum Report submitted to Alberta Tourism, Parks, and Recreation, Lethbridge.

Loubser J. and J. Simon.
2011 Recording and Condition Assessment of Painted Rock, San Luis Obispo County, California. Stratum Report submitted to the BLM, Bakersfield.

Mark, R., J. H. N. Loubser, and E. Billo
2009 Cultural Resources Inventory of Rock Imagery,381.99 Acres, at Big Spring State Park, Howard County, Texas. Rupestrian CyberServices Report submitted to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin.

O’Callaghan, J. A.
1961 Letter to Edness Kimball Wilkins concerning BLM Protection of Castle Gardens.

Pickle, J.
1980 Gettin’ Started: Howard County’s First 25 Years. Heritage Museum, Big Spring.

Renaud, E. B.
1932 Archaeological Survey of Eastern Wyoming, Summer 1931. Department of Anthropology, University of Denver, Denver.

Sutherland, K.
2002 Rock Paintings at Hueco Tanks State Historic Site. Texas Parks and Wildlife, Austin.

Thorn, A.
1991 Painted Rock Conservation Project: Document A, The Written Report. Report submitted to the GCI and BLM, Bakersfield.

Treanor, W. C.
1994 Big Spring State Recreational Area and CCC Camp 1857. Student Essay on File at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Archeology Laboratory, Austin.

Werden, E. P.
2008 The Sacred Rock Art Site of Painted Rock: Preservation through Conservation Documentation Methodologies. Unpublished MA Thesis submitted to the University of California, Los Angeles.

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→ The removal and camouflage of graffiti: The art of creating chaos out of order and order out of chaos
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by Nicholas Hall
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Bradshaw Foundation Donate Friends
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Bradshaw Foundation YouTube
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Bradshaw Foundation Donate Friends
LATEST ARTICLE
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RECENT ARTICLES
Bradshaw Foundation Donate Friends
→ Vingen Rock Art in Norway at Risk
by Rock Art Network
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by Rock Art Network
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by Aron Mazel
29 September 2020
→ Art on the Rocks in the Age of COVID-19
by Neville Agnew & Tom McClintock
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by Janette Deacon
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by Peter Robinson
16 August 2020
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by María Isabel Hernández Llosas
9 June 2020
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by Jean-Michel Geneste
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→ Experts rush to map fire-hit rock art
by Andrew Bock
15 May 2020
→ Sacred Indigenous rock art sites under threat
by Amy van den Berg
12 May 2020
→ Virtual Meeting
by Ben Dickins
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by Wendy All
23 March 2020
→ The aftermath of fire damage to important rock art at the Baloon Cave tourist destination, Carnarvon Gorge, Queensland, Australia
by Paul Taçon
24 November 2019
→ The removal and camouflage of graffiti: The art of creating chaos out of order and order out of chaos
by Johannes H. N. Loubser
11 November 2019
→ The Histories of Australian Rock Art Research symposium, 8-9 December 2019, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
by Paul Tacon
5 November 2019
→ San rock art exhibition at the National Museum & Research Center of Altamira
by Aron Mazel
17 September 2019
→ The 2018 Art on the Rocks Colloquium
by Wendy All
2 December 2018
→ Preserving Our Ancient Art Galleries: Volunteerism, Collaboration, and the Rock Art Archive
by Wendy All
1 December 2017
→ Altamira and the New Technology for Public Access
by Pilar Fatás Monforte
30 April 2017
→ From the Chauvet Cave to the Caverne du Pont d’Arc: Methods and Strategies for a Replica to Preserve the Heritage of a Decorated Cave That Cannot Be Made Accessible to the Public
by Jean-Michel Geneste
29 April 2017
→ Emerging Consciousness and New Media: The Management of Rock Art in Southeast Asia and New Opportunities for Communicating Its Significance
by Noel Hidalgo Tan
28 April 2017
→ Step by Step: The Power of Participatory Planning with Local Communities for Rock Art Management and Tourism
by Nicholas Hall
27 April 2017
→ Fundraising for Rock Art by Promoting Its Values
by Terry Little
26 April 2017
Bradshaw Foundation Donate Friends
Support our work & become a
Friend of the Foundation
 
 
 
Bradshaw Foundation YouTube
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